Bear Vet by Zoe Chant

Chapter Fourteen

A hideous gratingshriek shattered Judy’s sleep. She sat bolt upright in bed, clutching at Waylon.

He wasn’t there. In the silvery moonlight that filtered in through the windows, she saw him moving with a speed that seemed impossible for such a big man. In fact, it ought to be impossible for anyone, short of maybe an Olympic sprinter. Before she could do more than blink, he was yanking open the closet door, grabbing the tranquilizer rifle, and taking up a defensive position behind the closed bedroom door.

“Stay behind me,” he said to Judy. “I’m checking on Rae and Caro.”

She scrambled out of bed and ducked behind him as he opened the door. Bruiser was also at his heels, barking his head off. The shriek sounded again, an ungodly mix of a dog growling, nails screeching down a chalkboard, and a woman screaming.

“What is it?” Judy gasped.

“Dunno.” Waylon was moving down the corridor, rifle ready. “Some animal. I guess.” He banged his fist against Raelynn’s door. “Rae! Caro! Come here, quick!”

There was no response. As the silence sank in, Judy was gripped by an utter terror that not even that unknown beast could strike into her. If anything had happened to the girls…

Waylon wrenched the door open. Right behind him, Judy flipped on the lights. The room was empty, the bed neatly made and not slept in.

“No blood,” said Waylon. He sounded like he was trying to keep control of himself. “No signs of struggle. No scent.”

No scent? Judy thought, baffled both by that weird remark and by the girls having apparently vanished into thin air. Could they have gotten scared of the beast and run away?

The moment it occurred to her that they might have left of their own accord, she knew exactly what had happened. “Waylon, they must’ve snuck out.”

“But where…?”

“The stables. They went for a midnight ride. I’m sure of it.” The relief she felt was echoed in his expression. “You know them. It’s exactly the sort of thing they’d love, and they’d know you’d never let them. Whatever… thing is outside, they’re far away from it.”

“Unless—” Waylon began.

Judy suspected he was going to say “Unless it caught them on the way,” because it had occurred to her, with another wave of terror, at the exact moment he’d started to speak.

But he never got the chance to finish his sentence. They heard the beast shriek again, and then the rhythmic thud of pounding hooves, followed by Raelynn shouting, “Black Flame, no!”

Waylon bolted for the front door, rifle ready, with Judy and Bruiser right behind him. As they passed through the living room, Judy veered off to snatch up a poker from the fireplace. She didn’t know what the beast was, but if it was going for Raelynn—or Black Flame, for that matter—she would have no qualms about knocking it into the middle of next week.

“Hold Bruiser back!” Waylon shouted.

Judy grabbed his collar with her free hand as Waylon flung open the door, shouting, “Rae!”

The full moon shone brightly, illuminating the scene with a terrifying clarity. Raelynn rode Black Flame on the dirt road in front of the house, her red hair bleached to gray by the moonlight. They’d clearly been making for the backyard, but the beast crouched between them and it.

At first Judy couldn’t figure out what it was, it looked so different from anything she’d ever seen before. It was some portal creature, for sure. The beast was as big as a wolf and roughly shaped like one, but had armor plates like an armadillo rather than fur. The plates were smooth and white, gleaming in the moonlight like polished bone.

“Don’t move, honey,” Waylon said. “I’m going to shoot.”

He looked more like a warrior than ever, with his great height and protective strength and the rifle at his shoulder. His daughter was in danger and he was facing a terrifying beast from out of this world, but there wasn’t a trace of fear in his voice. His hands were absolutely steady as he fired the tranquilizer rifle.

Judy had maybe a nanosecond of utter relief that it was all over and they were safe and Waylon had saved them, before the tranquilizer dart hit one of the armor plates and bounced off with an audible ping!

“Shit!” Waylon yelled.

Raelynn let out a slightly hysterical giggle. “Language!”

The beast’s head had whipped around when the dart had struck it. The armor plates covered its head too. Unnervingly, Judy couldn’t even see its eyes. She could see its fangs, though. Those were very, very visible.

“Where’s Caro?” Judy called.

“She’s fine!” Raelynn answered. “She—”

“Rae!” Waylon shouted. “I’m getting between you and it. As soon as I do, make a run for the house. Judy, once she’s inside, get in with her and lock the door.”

“I’m not leaving you, Waylon,” said Judy. “Rae, you get in and lock the door.”

“I’m not leaving Black Flame!” Raelynn yelled.

“I’ll protect Black Flame,” Judy promised, brandishing the poker. “Rae, get in here!”

The armored wolf-thing shrieked and sprang at Black Flame. Waylon fired again—Judy could swear he’d aimed at its open mouth—but the dart struck its chin and bounced off.

Black Flame reared and kicked the beast with his front hooves. He caught it in mid-leap, striking its chest with both hooves. They hit with a ringing bang, knocking the beast aside. But the jolt of the impact threw Raelynn from his back.

“Rae!” Waylon yelled, running toward his daughter.

Judy released the hysterically barking Bruiser and ran to protect them both, poker in hand.

By the time they reached her, Raelynn was already staggering to her feet. She looked dusty and was likely bruised, but she’d fallen lightly and Judy didn’t think she’d been harmed.

Unfortunately, the pale beast didn’t seem to have been harmed either. It screamed and crouched, ready to spring again.

So much adrenaline was pumping through Judy’s veins that time seemed to slow down. And so she was able to take in everything that happened in that moment, even though all of it occurred at once.

Judy raised her poker, holding it like a baseball bat. She might not be able to knock the beast out, but she bet she could knock it aside, like Black Flame had.

Bruiser braced himself, snarling at the beast.

Black Flame let out a cry like a bugle sounding—Judy recognized it as the war cry of a stallion—and burst into flame.

And Waylon and Raelynn turned into bears.

Judy, who had faced down the armored wolf without getting paralyzed with fear, was paralyzed with sheer surprise. There was a deadly beast right in front of her, but all she could do was stare at the huge grizzly bear that had been Waylon and the gangling, half-grown bear cub that had been Raelynn. It was as if the gears of her mind had finally gotten so much sand thrown into them that they’d ground to a complete halt.

The Raelynn-cub scrambled in front of Judy and Black Flame, and the Waylon-grizzly placed his immense bulk in front of them all.

They’re protecting me, Judy realized. Then, considering Black Flame, Bruiser, and the poker she herself held, she thought, We’re all protecting each other.

And then, in a revelation that was so unexpected and yet so obvious that it almost made her laugh, she said aloud, “So that’s the big secret!”

The Waylon-grizzly made a rumbling noise that she couldn’t help interpreting as Yeah, you got me.

The armored beast sprang.

Waylon rose to his hind legs to meet it. His height was jaw-dropping, and the growl he gave resonated through Judy’s chest. Bear and wolf crashed to the ground with an earth-shaking thud, rolling over and over, the wolf-thing struggling to be free and the bear struggling to control it.

The half-grown bear that was Raelynn rushed to help her father. She flung herself at the armored beast with a fearlessness that Judy had come to know and love. With her help, Waylon was finally able to pin the creature to the ground. There was a fierce and thrashing struggle, but the beast was pinned beneath the giant shaggy mound of brown fur and claws that was Waylon, and the smaller shaggy mound of brown fur and claws that was Raelynn.

Black Flame and Bruiser rushed to make sure the beast didn’t break free. They stood over the armored wolf and the bears, respectively neighing and growling. Fire rippled along Black Flame’s body, but they were on the dirt road, so nothing else caught fire.

Judy ran for the tranquilizer rifle. She snatched it up, made sure it was loaded, and cautiously approached the beast. Its armor was made of overlapping plates, with no vulnerable spots that she could see. Close up, she could see its little eyes peering from deep-set caverns. They were small and beady, blinking quickly, with a distinct look of panic.

“Poor thing,” Judy murmured. “You’re just lost and scared, aren’t you?”

The beast opened its mouth to scream. Judy fired the gun, muttering “Sorry” as she did so. The dart caught it right on the forked tongue. It lashed its tongue, sending the dart flying, but not before it had injected the sedative. The creature closed its mouth, blinked more slowly, then closed its eyes and went limp.

With a thunder of wings, a pegasus landed on the dirt road. It was Caro’s Moonbow, but grown big enough to ride. Caro had told Judy he could do that, but the reality of the magnificent stallion and his great wings surpassed everything Judy had imagined. Caro was riding him, with Angel and Bryan behind her. Both men held tranquilizer rifles. As soon as Moonbow landed, they leaped off his back like Marines going into battle.

“Moonbow, up!” Angel ordered. “Get Caro to safety!”

“Judy, get behind me!” Bryan shouted.

As the bears had still been struggling with the armored beast as the pegasus had approached and were just starting to get off it, Judy could see why they thought the battle was still going on.

“Don’t shoot!” Judy called out. “It’s already tranquilized.”

The Waylon-grizzly and the Raelynn-cub stepped away from the fallen beast. Bryan lowered his weapon, and Angel put his down and knelt to examine the creature. Black Flame’s fire went out and he sniffed at Raelynn with a distinctly puzzled expression. Bruiser, who was clearly used to his master becoming a massive grizzly bear, stopped barking and started chewing on one of Waylon’s great paws. Waylon gave a huff and nuzzled Raelynn, who nuzzled him back.

For the first time, Judy had time to process what had happened. Waylon and Raelynn could turn into bears! And Angel and Bryan didn’t seem the slightest bit surprised or alarmed by the presence of two random, friendly grizzly bears.

“Did you two know about this?” Judy inquired, unsure whether she ought to be outraged or what. “This bear thing?”

“Er… yes,” said Angel, looking up from the beast. He had one hand resting on its armor-plated shoulder. “I did suggest that he tell you earlier.”

“Me too,” said Bryan.

The grizzly bear that was Waylon stepped up to her and gave her a gentle nudge. His fur was shaggy and coarse, cool from the night breeze. She buried her hands in it, touching the warm skin below. There was a man’s intelligence in his animal eyes, and she felt no fear of him.

“Waylon, why on earth didn’t you tell me?” Judy asked.

The Raelynn bear gave a loud snort, then shambled off toward the house. Incredulous, Judy watched the bear cub squeeze in through the doorway and vanish from sight.

Moonbow landed, and Caro jumped off his back and ran after Raelynn, shouting, “Coming in! It’s me, Caro!” The door slammed behind her.

Judy’s hands were suddenly in Waylon’s own soft hair. He was kneeling at her feet, stark naked. In any setting but the one he was actually in, with his two colleagues, a pair of magical horses, and a sedated armadillo-wolf-creature present, she would have found it an incredibly sexy sight. The moonlight made the strong lines of his body into a heroic statue, and if she’d been nude as well, his head would have been positioned exactly right to…

Judy forced herself to bookmark that line of thinking. She cleared her throat loudly.

When he looked up at her, she knew that he’d known exactly what she’d been thinking. The glint in his eyes was distinctly wicked. “Hold that thought.”

His voice became much more serious as he added, “As for the bear thing, I’m so sorry to spring it on you like this. I’ll explain everything as soon as Raelynn comes back.”

Looking up from the armored creature, Angel said, “Why don’t you all go inside and get dressed? Bryan and I can hold down the fort.”

That was when Judy registered that both Waylon and Raelynn must have exploded out of their clothes when they’d become bears. Shreds of denim and pajama fabric were everywhere, along with bits of destroyed shoes.

“That’s why you have spare bras in every size,” she said. “In case any bear friends come over and turn into bears.”

“Yep.” Waylon stood up and shouted at the top of his lungs, “Raelynn, Caro, stay in your room! We’re coming in!”

“But that armored wolf-thing…” Judy began.

Waylon shook his head. “It won’t cause any more problems. Even if it wakes up, Angel can handle it.”

“Does he turn into a bear too?” Judy asked doubtfully. “Because it took two of you to sit on it.”

“I don’t,” said Angel. “But it won’t fight so long as I’m touching it.”

“He turns into a unicorn,” said Bryan.

If Angel had told her that himself, even after everything else, Judy wasn’t sure she’d have believed him. But Bryan’s take-it-or-leave-it tone and his total lack of effort to convince her was what made her believe.

“Oh,” she said. “A unicorn.”

“And while we’re all coming out, Bryan’s a wolf,” said Waylon.

“A wolf,” she repeated. “Of course he is.”

He took her in his arms—his very naked arms, along with the rest of his very naked self—and kissed her in a way that left her even more dizzy than the bear-unicorn-wolf revelations. “Come on. Let’s get dressed. And then we’ll explain everything.”

They took a shower first. The now-familiar but never routine ritual of showering with Waylon, along with the much-needed hot water, made Judy feel less like she was in the middle of a very bizarre and bear-filled dream. His hands on her shoulders, the sheer size of him, even his clean masculine scent helped to ground her. No matter what sort of outlandish events occurred, Waylon himself was very real. And so was the love that hummed between them like a living presence.

In the kitchen, they found Bryan making coffee while Raelynn and Caro sat at the kitchen table with mugs of hot chocolate piled with marshmallows. Bruiser was sacked out on the rug, while Oscar and Felix groomed each other on the sofa. Moonbow (still full-size) and Black Flame were in the backyard now, watching them through the sliding glass door.

Alarmed, Judy said, “You left Angel alone with that thing?”

“His touch calms animals down. They’re both fine. And I need coffee.” Bryan poured himself a large mug, drank a gulp black, refilled it, then poured out another mug and added cream and sugar. He took the mugs and walked out. They were both filled to the brim, but he held them so still that they didn’t even think about overflowing.

Caro grabbed her hot chocolate. “I’ll go wait with them. We called Shane and Catalina for backup before we left, so they should be here any minute now. I want to say hi.”

She followed Bryan out the door, leaving Judy, Waylon, and Raelynn alone.

“Tactful of her,” Judy remarked. “I take it she also knows about the bear thing?”

Raelynn gave an uncharacteristically meek nod. “Her dad’s a cave bear. Shifter. A cave bear shifter. That’s what we’re called: shifters.”

Judy had so many questions. But some of the answers were, when she thought about them, obvious. Yes, there were people who could turn into animals. Yes, they were a secret. They were probably a secret for the exact same reasons the magical animals were a secret. Yes, it was probably genetic, or at least sometimes genetic, given that Raelynn and Waylon were the same type of bear. There were other things she wondered about whose answers were less obvious, but she could find those out in time. Only one question was really important.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Judy asked.

She had addressed the question to Waylon, but Raelynn was the one who answered. A flood of words poured out of her. She’d obviously been holding back so much for so long, that her explanation was jumbled and repetitive, but Waylon filled in the gaps. As she explained the difficulty she’d had controlling herself as a bear, and how ashamed she was of it, and how worried she’d been that it would make Judy see her differently, Judy was filled with immense sympathy for her. Being a teenager was so hard, whether your problem was that you turned into an out-of-control bear or had parents who wanted you to be more like them.

Judy leaned over the table and hugged her. “Rae, I would never ever think differently of you because of something like that. It’s not your fault and it doesn’t say a thing about you. Besides, if you’d told me there were people who turned into bears, I’d probably have assumed they all wandered around eating honey and doing bear stuff.”

Raelynn sniffed hard. “Dad thought you’d say something like that.”

“But you weren’t out of control this time,” Waylon said. “Or was that your bear attacking that creature?”

She shook her head, beaming. “Nope! That was all me. And I think I can do it again, too.”

Then it was Waylon’s turn to hug her. “Rae, honey, I’m so happy for you. Do you know what did it?”

“Black Flame,” she said. “And Judy. And you too, Dad. But mostly Black Flame. While we were teaching him not to be scared of people and to control his flame, I guess it taught me, too. I kept saying and thinking ‘Calm, calm,’ to him, and it worked so well, I did it to myself. And it worked!”

“I take it back,” Judy said. “That does make me think of you a bit differently. I think you’re even more amazing than I did before.”

Raelynn grinned and took a gulp of hot chocolate.

“I would think that if it was possible,” said Waylon. “I’m not sure it is, though. Also, you’re grounded for sneaking out.”

“Daaaad!”

“Grounded,” he repeated. “No arguments.”

“I can still go to the stable though, right?”

“If Judy’s there with you,” said Waylon. “I don’t want to punish Black Flame too. He didn’t do anything wrong.”

Raelynn thunked her mug down on the table and ran for the door, shouting over her shoulder, “I’ll tell Caro she can come back in now!”

“Tell her to wait a couple minutes!” Waylon called. “And you wait too!”

“Gotcha!” The door slammed behind her.

Waylon waited a moment to make sure she was out of earshot, then said, “I wish I could’ve told you earlier, Judy. But I couldn’t figure a way out of that mess to do right by you both.”

Poor Waylon, Judy thought. What an awful dilemma!

And yet she couldn’t regret that it had happened. His explanation of it made her love him even more, if that was possible. “You did do right by us. You kept your promise to your daughter, and you never lied to me. And when the chips were down, you both protected me, no matter what it meant for you.”

“And you protected Rae. I’ll never forget how you jumped in front of her and squared off against the beast with nothing but a poker.”

She shrugged. “I didn’t have time to think. It was pure instinct.”

“That’s because it came from the heart.” He took her hands in his and gazed into her eyes. She recognized the heat of desire, the warmth of love, and the steady shine of loyalty and commitment. “There’s something else I need to tell you about shifters. I don’t just turn into a bear. A part of my personality is the bear. It’s the part of me that’s more primal. More instinctive.”

“Is that why Raelynn was having so much trouble shifting? That part of her took over?”

“Yeah, exactly. But there’s more to it than that. The part of you that’s the inner animal doesn’t have quite the same priorities that humans have, but it can perceive things that humans can’t. One of the things it can do is recognize our true mates.”

Judy had never heard the phrase before, and yet it rang a bell somewhere deep inside her. “Is that like your one true love?”

“Yes,” Waylon said simply. “It’s exactly that. Your mate is the person you’re completely compatible with. The person you’ll love with all your heart and soul, and always be faithful to. You don’t have to be a shifter to have one, of course. But shifters know earlier, and we know for sure. Judy, when I first looked into your eyes, I knew that you were the one for me. When we were driving home singing Dolly Parton songs, I was already in love with you.”

The raw honesty of his confession brought the sting of tears to her eyes, but she blinked them back. “Me too, Waylon. Me too. I just couldn’t admit it to myself. I was scared it was too fast and too good to be true and I wasn’t the family type and I’d mess things up with Raelynn and—”

He silenced her with a kiss. In the heat and passion of their embrace, Judy knew that none of her fears were true. She was his mate, and he was hers. They were also part of a family, and she belonged with it and it belonged with her just as much as she and Waylon belonged with each other.

“To think it used to just be me and a bunch of horses,” she murmured.

“Now it’s you and me and a bunch of horses,” said Waylon, smiling. “And two donkeys and a mule.”

“And a dog,” Judy added.

And two cats.”

“And Bryan and Angel and Everly,” said Judy. “Right?”

“Oh, definitely.”

“And Denise.” Judy had met Raelynn’s mother via Zoom, and they’d had some awkward chats. “She knows about shifters, right?”

“She’s one herself,” said Waylon. “That’s what I meant when I was talking about our families both being from the same cultural background. They were back-to-the-earth shifters who thought we needed to live closer to nature, like our animals did.”

“Oh!” Maybe those chats would be less awkward now. Or maybe the shifter thing had nothing to do with it. All the same, Denise was family.

Raelynn barged back into the room. Excitedly, she said, “Dad, Angel says the armored wolf-thing isn’t hurt, just scared and lost. He says we need to load it into the back of your truck and put it back through the portal, but it’s really heavy. He wants me and you to shift into bears and help him lift it that way, can I?”

“Is the portal still open?” Waylon asked.

“Yes! Caro and Moonbow flew to it with Bryan and he called from the woods. He says to hurry because it might close at any second, and then Angel would be stuck with the armored wolf calming it down around the clock until the portal opens again because we don’t have any cage strong enough to hold it.”

“Well, we can’t have that.” Waylon stood up and offered Judy his hand. “Want to come along for the ride?”

“With you and Rae and Angel and an armored wolf-armadillo being magically calmed down by a man who turns into a unicorn? Any time.” Then, considering, she said, “Unless you need me to return Black Flame to the stable.”

“He’ll stay in the backyard until we get back if I ask him to,” Raelynn assured her.

“I guess the whole family’s going, then,” said Judy.

“Except Black Flame,” said Raelynn. “And the cats. Probably Bruiser shouldn’t come either. And Mom’s in Finland, of course. But a bunch of the family will be there.”

“Were you listening at the door?” Waylon asked.

“No.” Her puzzled look made it clear that she was telling the truth. “Why?”

“We all have the same idea of who’s in our family,” said Judy.

“Of course we do,” said Raelynn. “Because we are one.”